«x TOM M Published weekly by the Tribune Publishing Canada and British Commonwealth countries (except Australia), Printed by Union Printers Ltd., 550 Powell Street, Vancouver 4, B.C. EDITORIAL PAGE x cEWEN, Editor — HAL GRIFFIN, Associate Editor — RITA WHYTE, Business Manager. Company Ltd. at Room 6, 426 Main Street, Vancouver 4, B.C. — MArine 5288 1 year $3.00, 6 months $1.60. Australia, U.S., and all other countries, 1 year $4.00, 6 months $2.50. Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Department, Ottawa Tom. McEwen EN the famed Kingston Penitentiary — tiots in October of 1932 broke out, Oficial Ottawa and its hoosegow flunkeys had a handy explanation: “the Commun- ‘Sts.”" For weeks the daily press ran Stfeamer headlines on the pap handed Sut to them by “Iron Heel” R. B. Ben- Nett and his penitentiary commandants. “Prison Riots Communist-inspired;” “Reds Spread Discontent in Pen;” “Com- Nunists Under Double-guard” and so forth. Ex-superintendent of Penitenti- aties, Brigadier General Ormond assured the Canadian people via the same press that he would quell all Red attempts hereafter to sow discontent among the Prisoners, who were all allegedly “happy 48d contented” before the Reds landed 'N Kingston. © give all this official clap-trap a semblance of truth in the minds of peo-° ‘© outside jail, an attempt to murder '™ Buck in his cell was made by a peni- €ntiary guard. Several volleys of re- Yolver and rifle fire was pumped into m’s cell: that they were all “near Misses” was no fault of the guard who fired the shots. peor a long time after the shooting : ‘ime Minister Bennett argued loudly hat there had been “no shooting,” as did 'S jail flunkeys. When, however, the Tuth could no longer be hidden, he and US janissaries resorted to the “explana- ‘0n” that the shooting was just intended ° “intimidate Buck.” At first glance that explanation may appear a_ bit Strange to. the unsophisticated. If how- ‘ver one keeps in mind the nature of °apitalism there is nothing ‘Strange about _In any emergency capitalism always telies on force and bloodshed as its final whiter, : Ih view of the recent serious rioting I _burning in Kingston Penitentiary, think it is important for Canadians to "eeall these events of 22 years ago. his time, and no doubt much to the “egret of the Penitentiary Branch of the UStice Department ,there doesn’t seem @ any communists in the “KP” in- Mate body. Hence the officials and the “ewer press seem to be deprived of that Well-worn howl of “communism” which 8enerally regarded as “explaining” : “verything. © a sequel to the 1932 prison riots a Royal Commission was set up to conduct 82 exhaustive investigation into penal Ministration and aims in Canada. Very "Ww people ever read the voluminious “Ports of Royal Commissions, but a Study of the above commission’s report “ven at this late date would help society ° understand one of its greatest social Toblems, and its responsibility thereto. Many of the reforms proposed by the a 5 Royal Commission have been in- tituted in Canadian penitentiaries — and too many haven’t been. The recent lowup” at Kingston shows that the atter are the most costly — to public 20d prisoners alike. The “lag” that has 20-years time still €ad of him'to “reform” is not impress- &d by the howl of “Communism” even ®n sung by prime ministers and top army brass. He is however very much , Pressed with a little human kindness ° help pass his long grey years. A Royal ; Kaumssion said he should have it. The tngston Penitentiary riots, devrived of € customary. official anti-communist “Owl, say he hasn’t yet got it. _t is reported that it will take $2 mil- ton to-repair the damage from the recent "ots. That sum could provide a lot of §menities. —-FROM THE LONDON DAILY EXPRESS ADENAUER WRITES A LETTER “We are prepared to accept your German rearmament program on condition we sell you the arms that you rearm us with.” New policies or crisis ce are headed straight for a crisis. Only a drastic change in national policy can prevent it. There will be 750,000 to a million unemployed in ‘Canada by next spring unless policies are changed.” This warning from Tim Buck, the na- tional leaders of the Labor-Progressive party, is based upon a careful analysis of facts. : @ Canada’s wheat carryover as the new crop is harvested, stands at over 587 million bushels—nearly 200 million above the ten-year average from 1944. @ in the first quarter of this year, Canadian farmers got $32 million less ‘ in cash receipts. ® In the same period total national production declined in value by $400 million over the last quarter of 1953. . @ Steel vroduction is down 30 per- cent; pig iron 20 percent. Motor vehicle sales have dropped 37 percent. ; @ That the take-home pay of work- ers is also dropping is indicated in the 13 percent decrease in income tax de- auctions at the source. @ Canadian exports are diminishing. As this is written 145,000 railworkers, through their 14 unions, are negotiating for fringe benefits the cost of which is sharply estimated at the equivalent of 14 cents , an hour. Naturally, th® companies, both the ‘US.-controlled CPR and the government- owned CNR, plead inability to pay- Freight carloadings are down 10 per- cent, they argue; revenues are falling. 1 HE Vancouver local of the Carpenters’ union (AFL) merits the whole-hearted support of the trade union movement in its fight to maintain the right of peace- ful picket. As a result of its fight the “union’s business agent, Cliff Worthing- ton is presently on trial for contempt of court. The use of the courts by the employ- ers against the unions is not something new. It is an old story. As old as the trade union, movement. However this case is somewhat ‘unique. picketed a job as a result of a dispute with Pacific Construction Ltd. The em- ployer secured a court injunction for- bidding the union to picket. The picket- ing continued despite the injunction. As a result the union business agent was cited for contempt of court. When the case was called the construction com- pany requested that the charge of con- tempt it had laid be withdrawn. But the judge, Mr. Justice Clyne, ruled that the court would proceed with the case. When the case was resumed last week Worthington was not able to be present as he was attending the Trades and ' tice Clyne. The union’ The question is: should the rail work- ers be asked to bear the cost of depres- sion brought about by national policies that consistently betray the interests of the people of Canada? There are plentiful markets for Can- adian goods abroad: The 900 million people of the socialist lands are eager to trade with us. Should the rail workers (and the farm- ers of the West) be penalized because the government — and the rail corpora- tions — refuse to adopt Canadian poli- cies? Because they slavishly and abject- ly grab for quick profits in return for . the sell-out of our national heritage to the USA? The question of national policy is at the heart of the problems facing the Canadian labor movement as it moves into its annual conventions. And for the rail workers, it is a doub- ly vital issue, for the St. Laurent govern- ment threatens to ape the most vicious anti-labor legislation in the United States in order to prevent the railroaders from exercising their absolute right to strike. Surely the surrender of the Seaway is sufficient evidence for the entire labor movment to see how our country is be- ing betrayed to the United States. Sure- ly such evidence must stir organized labor into protest action, into going be- yond economic demands into political action — for the cause of the depression with which we are threatened is politi- cal and can be averted by political action to win national policies that put the in- terests of Canada first. The right to picket — Labor Convention in Regina. Worthing- ton’s attendance at this important trade union convention is a vital part 6f his union responsibilities. Trade unionists can appreciate this. But not Mr. Jus- The daily press reports that the learned judge stated that Worthing- ton now faces a second contempt charge for “deliberately leaving town.” Organized labor cannot afford to allow its rights to be trampled upon. Last year an IWA business agent was sent to jail under a contempt charge arising out of a Nanaimo picket. Worthington must be afforded every opportunity to defend his union’s actions before the courts while continuing to carry out his union responsibilities as a delegate. It is high time that a halt is called to the increasing use of court injunc- tions and contempt charges aimed at preventing unions from exercising the right of picket. Organized labor should resolve that it will not rest until that right is fully held. The next session of the provincial legislature should adopt a provincial Bill of Rights which would include a guarantee that the right to picket is inviolate. ~~ Hal Griffin iy you want to know what people are talking about up and down this vast land of ours there is no better place to find out than on the trains. Every train brings together its own little forums of public opinion where there is no restriction on*topie and no limit on time except the patients of the other people. And since there is little else to do in the long days that it takes to cross the country. even the longest winded of speakers will be heard out by the most impatient of listeners. The participants in these symposiums are forever coming and going and new opinions are heard after every major stop, but certain topics, you find, come around again and again. The St. Lawrence Seaway, for in- stance. tt xt % The electrical worker from Hamilton has not been in the smoker for: more than five minutes before he brings the discussion around to the seaway. He produces the Toronto Star and points to that part of Prime Minister St. Laurent’s speech at the opening ceremony where he said that the seaway “will make the rich reserves of iron ore of _Labrador and Ungava available to steel ‘mills surrounding the Great Lakes,” He reads on, slowly and deliberately as though he were afraid we might miss the significance. “Tt will provide a great impetus to the industrial heartland of our continent and a resulting efforts will be felt by all of us.” Then he slaps the paper with his hand _ and all the pent-up feeling bursts out of him. : “What kind of talk is that?” he de- mands, only talk is not the word he uses. “Every one knows that the iron ore is going to the States. They’ll make the steel with our iron ore’and sell #t back to us at fancy prices. How does tha‘ help us? Why can’t we make the steel ourselves,” ‘ ° We find out that he has been laid off because the garts his plant was making are now being brought in from the U.S. He’s lucky, he says, because his brother is a builder in Regina and he’s on his way there to work until the fall. But his “worry over the future is voiced in his question, “Where’s it all going to end if more and more stuff is going to be brought in from the States?” 5o3 * % The railroader from Montreal is what an employer would term a reasonable man. When he hears us complaining about the outrageous prices in the diner he tries, unsuccessfully, to give us the company’s viewpoint. In fact his whole argument echoes the CPR publicity de- partment. : But on one point he has to agree with us. Having told us whaf* fine new trains the CPR will soon be placing in service, he can find no answer when the farmez from Swift Current points to the plate that says the car we are on was made in the Angus Shop at Montreal, and asks: “{ hear these new trains are being built in the U.S. Why couldn’t they have been built in Canada?” If St. Laurent cares to listen, he will find he has been no more successful: selling his U.S. policy at home than he has been abroad. PACIFIC TRIBUNE — AUGUST 27, 1954 — PAGE 5